The document introduces lean software development principles, emphasizing the importance of failure as a learning tool and the continuous improvement philosophy derived from lean manufacturing. It outlines key practices such as waste reduction, deferring commitment, delivering fast, and optimizing whole systems rather than parts, highlighting the role of culture in sustaining these practices. The content encourages a shift from traditional methodologies to lean approaches that prioritize value creation and knowledge acquisition.

1. Trimming The Fat
An Intro to Lean Software Development

2. Conduct
Questions OK
Raise Hand

3. Who Am I?
Local Entrepreneur
1530 Technologies & A Part-Time CTO
Organizer Lean Startup Circle
Lean Proponent Since 2003

4. Assumptions
Team based development vs. solo
Ideology still valuable

5. Lean Software
Development
( While touching on Lean Manufacturing )

6. “Lean” vs. Lean

7. Lean Origins
1.Started in Japanese Manufacturing & Auto Industries
2.Crystalized in Toyota Production System
However, the TPS is Lean, but Lean is NOT the TPS

8. Software vs.
Manufacturing
Crucial Differences

9. Heterogeneous vs.
Homogeneous
Economies of Scale vs. Scope

10. Eliminate Failure
Total Quality Management (TQM), etc...

11. Wrong!
If you’re not failing, you’re not learning.

12. Donald G. Reinertsen
“Failure is actually a good thing in learning systems, as
this is one the most information is generated, so we
actually want ways of generating an appropriate ratio of
failure to success, if we have too much of either the
system is not generating enough information to
properly learn” - LeanSSC 2010

13. Reduce Variability
Six Sigma, etc...

14. Wrong!
Reduce Economic Impact of Variability
Feature differentiation & Economies of Scope

15. Eliminate Bugs &
Defects
Sig Sigma, etc...

16. Wrong!
Preventing defects has a cost. Need to weigh that cost
with fixing

17. So There Are Some
Critical Differences
Lean Software Development Follows Spirit, Not Letter,
of Lean

18. So what is Lean?

19. The Lean Methodology

20. Waterfall
Agile (XP, etc..)
Vs. Lean
Custom Process
RUP

21. Forget your current
Process / Methodology!

22. Lean
Waterfall
Lean Lean
( Not Really )
Agile (XP, etc..) RUP
Lean
Custom Process

23. Lean
Principles
Culture
Kanban
Practices

24. There is no
‘Finished‘
Kaizen or Continuos Improvement

25. Relies on Cultural
Changes
Internalization is key. It’s most important than any
process you follow or certification.

26. Principles
1. Add nothing but value (Eliminate Waste)
2. Build Quality In
3. Create Knowledge (Focus on Learning)
4. Defer Commitment
5. Deliver Fast
6. Respect People
7. Optimize the Whole, Not the Parts

27. Waste
“Reduce the time from Order to Cash.” - Taiichi Ohno

28. Bugzilla vs. Trac
Should We Migrate?

29. 7 Types of Waste
1. In-Process Inventory - Anything other than the finished product
2. Over-Production - Anything produced but not sold / used.
3. Extra Processing - Rework, reprocessing
4. Transportation - Unnecessary movement of materials / product.
5. Motion - Extra steps.
6. Waiting - Downtime because an upstream activity is late.
7. Defects - Product not conforming to specs.

30. 1. Partially Done Work
In-Process Inventory

31. 2. Extra Features
Over Production

32. 3. Re-learning
Extra-Processing

33. 4. Handoffs
Transportation

34. 5. Task Switching
Motion

35. 6. Delays
Waiting

36. 7. Defects
Defects

37. How can you
identify waste?

38. Value Stream Mapping
Identify Waste

39. Example:
Text

40. 2. Build Quality In
“Do not look where you fell, but where you slipped.”
African Proverb

41. Build in Testing
The job of QA is NOT to find defects.

42. 3. Create Knowledge
“Do not look where you fell, but where you slipped.”
African Proverb

43. Early, Rapid Feedback
1.Automated Builds
2.Automated Testing
3.Release Early w/ Minimum Feature Set (MVP)

44. PDCA -
Dr. W. Edwards Deming
Plan - Do - Check - Act

45. 4. Defer Commitment
“Plans are nothing; planning is everything.”
– Dwight D. Eisenhower.

46. OODA Loop -
Col. John Boyd USAF
Observe - Orient - Decide - Act

47. 5. Deliver Fast
“A good plan, violently executed today, is better than a
perfect plan next week.”- George S. Patton

48. Batch Size Reduction
1. Feature
2. Release
3. Iteration
4. Story / Requirement / Task
5. Source Control Check-Ins
6. Etc...

49. Example:
Software Releases
Def: Transaction Costs - Hand off / switching costs
Def: Holding Costs - WIP before it’s released

50. Transaction Costs
1.Release Notes Creation
2.System Downtime
3.Customer Notifications
4.System Migrations
5.Source Control Churn
6.Employee Overtime

51. Holding Costs
1.Defects
2.Missed Migration Steps
3.Rework
4.Broken Regression Tests
5.Missed Customer Feedback
6.Source Control Churn

53. Continuous
Deployment
Seriously.

54. 6. Respect People

55. Push Decision Making
Down
Those with the most information should make
decisions.

56. Respect All Opinions
US Military: Lowest Ranking Member Speaks First

57. 7. Optimize the whole,
not the parts
“Local optimization leads to global inefficiencies” -
Eliyahu M. Goldratt

58. Systemic Thinking
Under how things influence one another within a
whole.

59. Root Cause Analysis
“At a fulfillment center recently, one of our Kaizen
experts asked me, “I’m in favor of a clean fulfillment
center, but why are you cleaning? Why don’t you
eliminate the source of dirt?” - Jeff Bezos

60. 5 Whys
Facilitates Root Cause Analysis

61. Theory Of Constraints
Cost Accounting vs. Throughput Accounting

62. Theory of Constraints
1.Identify The Constraint
2.Exploit The Constraint
3.Subordinate Everything To Constraint
4.Elevate The Constraint
5.Repeat / Find New Constraint

63. (Create 10/day) (Process 8/day)
Machine 1 Machine 2 Customer
Day
1 10 8 8
.........
Day
5 10 8 8
End of Week Inventory: 10 Leftover Widgets

64. (Create 10/day) (Test 8/day)
Dev QA Customer
Day
1 10 8 8
.........
Day
5 10 8 8
End of Week Inventory: 10 Leftover Tasks

65. Flash Demo!
Many many thanks to Tom Looy

66. Kanban
Pull Based Product Production

67. Kanban Cards
Physical cards signaling the need for an activity

68. Kanban Board

69. Divergence from Agile
With pull-based product development, iterations
become useless.

70. There’s a lot more
Kaizen, Sensei, muda / muri /mura (waste)

71. Lean Startup
Bringing Lean/Agile practices to Marketing / Sales

72. Resources

73. Questions?
I love hearing from people, so please reach out:
Email: gcaprio@1530technologies.com
Twitter: gcaprio

74. Final Thought
“In product development we want to trade-off
variability with cycle time and we should focus on
useful patterns rather than methodologies.” - Don G.
Reinertsen, LeanSSC 2010